Success in Targeting “Johns”

In the four years since a Cook County ordinance took effect raising the fine on soliciting a prostitute, sheriff’s officers haven’t arrested a single repeat offender, Sheriff Tom Dart recently told NBC Chicago. Dart’s office has collected nearly $208,000 in fines since his officers began citing Johns instead of charging them with the misdemeanor allowed by Illinois state law. Sixty percent of that money has gone to fund a service to help prostitutes get off the street. The remainder has gone to the Cook County Juvenile Detention Center.

A 2008 report by CAASE — the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation (CAASE) — indicates most of the Johns are in relationships and have seemingly bright futures. In fact, the report said that 62 percent of those charged have a potential regular sex partner. Seventy-nine percent of them have attended college, have graduated, or have graduate degrees.